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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24503080">Second to First, The Same Yet Worse</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikasha/pseuds/Nikasha'>Nikasha</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Compilation of Final Fantasy VII</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Medical related death, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Rufus mentioned, Tseng mentioned, offscreen death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-02</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 06:08:03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Major Character Death</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>783</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24503080</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nikasha/pseuds/Nikasha</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Tseng was critically injured during a mission. Rufus was the one in charge of medical decisions and he ultimately decided there was no coming back.<br/>The Turks are trying to recover, but it’s never easy.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Second to First, The Same Yet Worse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>missionheartcd on tumblr decided to lay a rough headcanon on the world so this is my revenge. How dare</p><p>(This ficlet isn’t that great, I apologize in advance.)</p><p>Linked the headcanon post in the end notes!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“Hey.” Elena slid into the booth across from Rude. She waved down a server to order a drink. “How are you?”<br/>Rude shrugged.<br/>Elena’s smile trembled. “Yeah. Same here. I got a mission down south. I’m kind of glad. The mood around here is...”<br/>Rude reached out, palm up on the table. Elena placed her hand in his and he rubbed a thumb over the back.<br/>“How’s Reno?” she asked softly.<br/>Rude’s expression shift would have been imperceptible to most. But Elena caught it. “...Learning quickly,” he said.<br/>She exhaled a laugh and squeezed his hand. “He’s pretty great as a leader, surprisingly.”<br/>Rude shook his head. “Not surprising,” he corrected. “He and Rufus...” A pause. “They work well together. When they talk.”<br/>Elena pressed her lips flat. “They’re not talking?”<br/>“Sometimes.”<br/>She groaned. The server brought her drink, so she let go of Rude’s hand to take a huge swallow. “I mean, I don’t blame Reno, but Shiva, he can’t just not talk to our boss.”<br/>Rude shrugged a little helplessly. “It hurts. You can see it.”<br/>Elena hissed. “It hurts all of us, damn it! It’s only been a month!” She softened, tucking her hair back. “...Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap.”<br/>Rude picked up the phone set next to his empty glass. Turned it around and set it down again. “I’ve been staying with him. He doesn’t sleep much...but he’s been having less and less nightmares.”<br/>“And Rufus?”<br/>Even from behind sunglasses, Rude’s stare was piercing. “I don’t know. He only checks in sometimes.”<br/>“So no one’s keeping an eye on the President. The guy who lost just about as much as Reno did.”<br/>“We all lost Tseng,” Rude reminded her.<br/>Elena finished the rest of her beer.<br/>“...Reno watches him,” Rude finally said. “He understands. It’s his duty now, anyway.”<br/>Elena gave a noncommittal noise in response. She took out her phone to check the screen. “Sister’s coming on the mission with me.” When Rude quirked a brow, she shrugged. “There isn’t as much paperwork now. It’s fine if she comes. Reno said so. I don’t have...” She choked and took a shallow breath. “I don’t have a partner right now.”<br/>Rude nodded in understanding.<br/>It was well into the night by the time they called it quits. The street lamps were still dubious at best and Rude walked Elena home through small patches of darkness.<br/>“Stay safe,” she murmured at the door, giving him a hug.<br/>He nodded and returned it.<br/>The place he called a house was quiet when he returned, except for the faint murmur of a TV. He wandered into the living room as he followed the noise and found a body on the couch, vacant eyes staring at the screen. “...Reno.”<br/>The redhead visibly startled, green eyes snapping over to Rude. He blinked and sat up, joints cracking. “Yo. Sorry, didn’t hear ya come in.”<br/>Rude said nothing. He walked over and sat next to the other Turk.<br/>Reno stayed solid for a minute before leaning into Rude’s side, sighing loudly. “Yeah, alright. I was hoping you wouldn’t notice.”<br/>Rude reached out to the table and picked up a beer can, setting it upright. He noted the full tray of ashes on the corner and scooted it away from danger of falling. “...Elena is worried. About you. And Rufus.”<br/>Reno scoffed, gaze locking on the screen again. “I’m fine. Just peachy. And Rufus is...” He hesitated. “Well, not great, but the guy has nerves of solid steel. He’ll be fine.” His tone went hard. “And anyway, he doesn’t get to complain.”<br/>Rude sagged a little. He wrapped an arm around Reno, turning to rest his head on crimson hair.<br/>“...It’s not fair,” Reno whispered.<br/>Rude didn’t answer, but he squeezed his partner lightly.<br/>“He shouldn’t’ve...He should’ve waited. He could’ve talked to me. We could’ve done something. A thousand stupid, fucked up mako experiments and we couldn’t try any of it?”<br/>Rude huffed.<br/>“I know. I know, that would have been horrible to put Tseng through. But gods! All of this shit we’ve been through and...” His voice shook. “Why him? I can’t do this.”<br/>“You can.” Rude was firm. “He thought you would be able to.”<br/>“Fuck,” Reno choked out like he’d been hit. He covered his mouth, but it was too late to stop the sobs.<br/>Rude pulled him in close like he could put himself between Reno and the world. By the time he stopped crying, Reno was in an uneasy sleep. Rude carried him to bed and climbed in with him, holding him close.<br/>“We lost Tseng,” he murmured to his sleeping partner. “We refuse to lose you, too.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>https://missionheartcd.tumblr.com/post/619500921947324416/more-on-a-related-note-to-my-last-post-tseng</p></blockquote></div></div>
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